The Disappearing Man
by halfwaytotomorrow
Summary: When James is unable to fall asleep he takes a look at the Marauder's Map only to see something odd. James and Sirius go to figure out what it is.


James wasn't particularly fond of the dark. Not that he would ever tell the others. But it had always made him uncomfortable, like something was hiding just deep enough in the shadows that he couldn't see it. It was ridiculous, he was in his fourth year, far too old to be afraid of such silly things as darkness. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that he was right to be in fear. He knew of the creatures that lived in the darkness, but that was in the real world not here. Besides, if there was anywhere he was safe it was Hogwarts. He's reassured his friends of that for years. Nothing could get into Hogwarts, nothing. And of course he had believed it as well. That was, until tonight. He had, once again, been unable to fall asleep and so decided to take a look at the Marauder's Map. He'd learned many things from this enchanted piece of parchment. Professor Slughorn went for a walk on the fifth floor almost every night, far too late to just be patrolling. He'd also discovered that Jason Mellith had a habit of ending up in the second floor broom closet with Francine Kellan, no comment there. But on this night James had seen something particularly odd. A name had appeared then disappeared in the courtyard. At first James had thought his eyes were tricking him. But he looked again to see the name had appeared a few yards ahead then disappeared once more. It did this again and again. Appearing then disappearing every few seconds until it reached the spot James saw it in now,just outside the Great Hall. As much as James strained he couldn't quite catch the name. It was as if the map was resilient to reveal the name of this late night intruder. This was how James knew something was wrong. The map never lies. It knows everyone. So why wouldn't it show the name of this stranger? He grew more uneasy every time the name flashed, it appeared almost on the stairs now. The boy had had enough. He quietly drew back his curtains and swung his legs over the side. Grabbing around in the darkness he searched for his shoes an pulled them on as rapidly as he could manage. He stood up cautiously, attempting to not make a sound, then looked down at the map. The intruder was almost to the second floor. Moving slowly to avoid being spotted, he suspected. It then occurred to James that it wasn't the wisest idea to go running off into the night after whatever thing was creeping up the staircase. "Might be better to bring someone along," he thought, turning towards the bed across the room from him. He crept along the center of the room and drew back the hangings on the bed. He leaned down and said in a harsh whisper, "Sirius," His friend stirred but did not wake. He tried again, "Sirius, this is urgent," He did not open his eyes but in a low voice he said, "I swear Potter, if this is about Lily again I will jinx you," James rolled his eyes and grabbed his friends arm, " It's got nothing to do with that. I need your help. There's someone in the castle." "Really?" Sirius said squinting at him, "Who ever would have thought, a person in a school, unthinkably horrible," James groaned, "This is not the time. Someone's here. Someone who shouldn't be. Look!" He pulled the map up from his side, pointing to the spot where the intruders name had once again vanished. Sirius propped himself up on his elbows squinting at the parchment. The named appeared and vanished slightly further up the staircase, Sirius' eyes widened. His expression hardened, "And what? You want us to go running off after some, some creature?" "Yes," James stated blankly. "Wonderful," Sirius said with a smirk. If they had asked Remus to come along he may have convinced them to report the intrusion, but the thought had not passed through the minds of Sirius and James. They were far too curious for their own good. James quickly grabbed his Invisibility Cloak from his trunk and walked out the door with Sirius right behind him. They ran down the stair, skipping steps as they went. They reached the darkened common room. The fire was burning low and cast dim orange light around it. James looked at the map again, the name had just appeared on the third floor landing. They were getting closer. James and Sirius headed for the portrait hole. James slipped the cloak over them before they slipped out. Pushing the portrait open slowly, giving them just enough space to slip out without waking the Fat Lady. This took far longer than James would have preferred, even for them who had snuck out unnoticed many times during their four years. They held their breath as the pushed the painting shut. They shifted under the cloak and looked down at the map again. In the distilled light, they could faintly see the name flash again, almost to the fourth floor. "What do you think this thing is?" Sirius said in a voice so quiet James wasn't sure he'd even spoken. "I've no idea. It's definitely powerful," he responded. "D'you think it could be a student, Slytherin maybe?" They started walking down the stairs, "Maybe, but with the name… I doubt there's any student at this school powerful enough to stop the map from getting them," James could see Sirius nodding out of the corner of his eye. They started to make their way further down the stairs, peeking over the banister as they went. James nearly threw them down the stairs as he pulled them both down when a caught a glimpse of the figure. He could see them, masked in the darkness, a slim figure patiently making their way up the stairs. They moved soundlessly, as if their feet never touched the ground. They looked at each other with wide eyes, not daring to speak again. The intruder was approaching the sixth floor. Where is it going? James thought. They hastily worked their way down the stairs and hid behind a suit of armor just above the seventh floor landing. The creature was approaching them now. James assumed it was a wizard but it seemed to move in an almost inhuman way. The two boys held their breath as the intruder reached the landing. To their surprise the figure didn't carry on up the stairs, instead it continued down the seventh floor corridor. Barely any moonlight came through the windows, but the man was clear in front of them, darker than any shadow cast around them. They followed him, staying along the walls and keeping as little distance between themselves and the stranger as they dared. The figure picked up their pace, yet their cape barely fluttered. The intruder turned down a corridor to their left, a dead end hallway. James and Sirius crouched behind the wall, peering around the corner just as the stranger came to a stop in front of the giant wall at the end of the corridor. The figure spun around sharply, looking back in the direction of the boys. The man was clearly a wizard. Moonlight faintly illuminated the mans skin. He was barely twenty yards ahead of them, too close for them to run if he did know they were there. The man was pale and slender, entirely shrouded in darkness, yet they could the shine of his eyes. The wizard shifted slightly and James got the sense that this intruder knew they were there. He saw the mans head turn in their direction until James was positive he was looking right at them. James pulled Sirius back behind the corner. He pulled out the map again. The name still flashed in front of the wall at the end of the corridor. The name appeared once more, longer than it has any time before, just long enough for James to read it before it vanished all together. They looked around the corner again to see an empty hallway. The boys got up quickly and ran as fast as they could back to the stairs. They climbed up far enough that they could still see the entrance to the seventh floor, Sirius watching the entrance and James watching for the name to flash on the map again. In what felt like hours later James saw a flicker of the name back outside the dead end. Not long enough to read this time but he already knew what it said. The figure was hastily making their way back to the staircase. The two boys watched the wizard gracefully walk out of the seventh floor then swiftly glide down the stairs, far faster then he had been while climbing up. Once the intruder was out of sight the two boys watched the name flash again and again, no longer straining to read it as it appeared. In front of the Great Hall, now back in the courtyard, and finally making its way down to the gates before vanishing entirely. Never to appear for the two again. The boys worked their way back to their room in silence. James sat down on his bed and slid off his shoes as Sirius pulled his sheets over himself. Neither of them fell asleep quickly but they remained quiet until both eventually dozed off. Sirius did not bring up their escapade the following day and James thought it best not to mention either. And though he tried to push the thought away, the name echoed in his mind. Like a whisper in his ear, it repeated constantly in the back of his mind. Though he would eventually tuck the name in a small corner where he would slowly forget it, that day it flashed through his mind as it had flashed on the map; Tom Riddle. 


End file.
